


Nota Beane

by XiuChen4Ever



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, M/M, Post-it Notes, sticky notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:28:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25925893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XiuChen4Ever/pseuds/XiuChen4Ever
Summary: It’s a little odd that Jongdae’s never actually seen his college roommate, but he has enough to worry about with trying to maintain decent grades (and maybe get the attention of the really cute barista at his favorite campus coffee shop).
Relationships: Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Comments: 50
Kudos: 190
Collections: EXO Home4U - 2020





	Nota Beane

**Author's Note:**

> Self-Prompt
> 
> Thanks to the mods for being so understanding about several last-minute prompt changes. I can only apologize, you've been very gracious and deserve all the real-world rewards for running this lovely fest!

The whole roommate situation is, for Jongdae, the most unpredictable part of the university experience. He’s an easy going guy and he cleans up after himself, so he hopes he himself isn’t too trying for whoever ends up sharing a dorm with him. And he feels like there’s a lot he can tolerate, so he tries not to wither prematurely as he approaches his sophomore room assignment, pushing a cart full of his worldly possessions in front of him.

Jongdae had lucked out in the roommate lottery as a freshman. He’d ended up sharing with this fun Chinese exchange student that was happy to tolerate Jongdae’s constant singing and even played the piano or guitar and sung along with him sometimes. But of course Yixing had gone back to China at the end of the year, leaving Jongdae to take his chances again.

According to the chirpy resident assistant who’d given him his keycode at the front desk, he’d been matched up with a senior this time. She hadn’t known anything besides that, but Jongdae supposes he’s a little relieved not to potentially have to usher a bewildered freshman around campus. The cute little name tags on their room door are a lizard in front of a microphone with his own name underneath, and a cat holding a pencil and protractor above the name  _ Kim Minseok. _

Jongdae guesses this means the guy’s some sort of science major. The school’s science programs are known for being really tough and requiring long hours in labs or libraries, so Jongdae expects not to see much of his new roommate for weeks at a time as he prepares projects for evaluations. But the weeks go by, and he never sees Minseok  _ at all. _

He might start thinking the guy doesn’t actually exist, except that furniture appeared in their room that Jongdae certainly hadn’t brought, like the world’s most comfortable sofa and a decent-sized TV, much better than just hooking a game system up to his laptop screen. And he might start thinking that Minseok’s one of those guys that basically lives at his significant other’s dorm, except that Minseok is home often enough to be always leaving Jongdae little notes. 

Things like  _ Happy Friday! I hope your first week went well! _ or  _ There’s leftover pizza in the fridge, help yourself! _ and once even  _ I hope you don’t mind that I reorganized the bookshelf, I really like things to be tidy but if you prefer your stuff the way it was, I won’t move it again. _

Like Jongdae’s going to complain about someone increasing the cleanliness of their room. Especially when his best friend, Baekhyun—sadly attending a different local uni so they can’t just room together—tells Jongdae his own roommate is a polite, friendly junior who’s filled their room with enough sci-fi movie figs to stage an entire trilogy, and abandons his half-empty hot cocoa mugs until they’ve grown more fuzz than a baby chick.

Jongdae will take an always-absent roommate over a messy one any day. The now-daily notes they stick to the bathroom mirror for each other make Jongdae feel like he and Minseok are getting to know each other, anyway. That they have a companionable little system going, on top of the fact that Jongdae gets to have his own space all the time.

He still feels like his hyung—Minseok insists on being addressed as such and dropping formalities in their writing because  _ we’re roommates, Dae, that makes us way too close to be stuffy with each other _ —is looking after him even if he’s never actually  _ seen _ him. And Minseok always leaves little >.< emojis at the end of each star-shaped yellow sticky note. Minseok may be older than he is, but Jongdae imagines him as some cute and peppy little guy, all chirpy and sweet like some fluffy little hamster.

The note Jongdae finds when he gets home after his last midterm exam reads,  _ You made it! I still have to rehearse for my performance evaluation so I won’t be home tonight, but I left money on the side table – go ahead and order something to celebrate and I’ll eat my share whenever I get back. >.< _

Jongdae smiles at the note like he always does. With a roommate this considerate, the school year is going to be much less stressful than it might otherwise have been, even if the cute guy that works at Jongdae’s favorite campus cafe never gives him anything besides the politest of smiles.

After being there nearly daily for the last two weeks getting fueled up for pre-exam cram sessions, this morning Jongdae had finally mustered up the courage to tell the big-eyed cutie that his new hair color—a bold but not garish purple—really suited him. He’d gotten the barista’s default smile and a thank-you along with a cookie-cutter have-a-nice-day the same as any other customer. 

Maybe Jongdae should take a page from Minseok’s book and write his number on one of the yellow star notes. He could stick it to his payment card the next time he’s in the cafe. He’s sure he’ll continue regular visits even though exams are over for now—he hadn’t been much of a coffee drinker before, but the bitter drink somehow tastes rich and earthy when Barista Xiu makes it for him. And the name etched into the guy’s coffee-bean-shaped name tag gives Jongdae something to moan in the shower even if he can’t seem to get the beautiful man’s attention.

A knock at the door jolts Jongdae from his frustrated daydreams. Waving Minseok’s sticky note as a victory flag, Jongdae goes to let his best friend in for a long-awaited visit. Baekhyun’s just finished his own exams this week, too, and the money Minseok had left is more than enough to get plenty of pizza for all three of them and even a six-pack of beer, two bottles of which Jongdae is sure to tuck into the dorm’s mini-fridge alongside a third of the pizza with a sticky note denoting them as Minseok’s share and thanking him for paying.

"It's been two whole months, dude!" Baekhyun says, somehow managing to eat pizza while lying upside-down on that super-comfy sofa. "I can't believe you've never even seen him!"

"I know, right?" Jongdae laughs. "I have heard him sing in the shower, though. He's got a surprisingly decent voice for a science nerd." 

Their continuous stream of sticky notes had revealed that in addition to his architecture major, Minseok’s got a dance minor, hence his always being at rehearsal whenever he’s not in the reference library or computer rendering lab. So Jongdae really shouldn’t have been too surprised that his hard-working roommate was musically capable as well as being ridiculously smart. Still, he’d sat up straight in bed, heart pounding, when he’d heard the slightly-burred tenor belting out idol pop at 2 a.m. a few weeks ago. The next morning’s sticky note had  _ two _ >.< faces, on either side of  _ Sorry if I woke you up last night! I got a great score on the group project I’ve been agonizing over, and I kind of forgot what time it was. Please forgive me! _

Jongdae had written back,  _ Of course you’re forgiven, hyung! I’d much rather be woken up by you singing (you have a nice voice btw) instead of the horror stories I’ve heard about roommates bringing dates home and getting loud. And congratulations on your project! I hope you didn’t do too much of the work yourself (but you probably did). _

"Wait, you were home when he showered?” Baekhyun gasps. “Why didn't you wait outside for him to come out so you could finally meet? Or better yet, just join him in the shower? Get to know him  _ really  _ well in a hurry."

Jongdae throws a cushion at him. Baek, that hapkido black belt fucker, blocks it with a lazy forearm, not even interrupting his pizza consumption to do so. "Because not all of us are boundary-ignoring perverts."

"At least I've seen my roommate.  _ All _ of my roommate."

"Gross."

"He's pretty damn stacked, actually," Baek says, sitting up to take a swig of his beer. "Which must be how he lures all those hot chicks into his disgusting, wookie-infested room to smash pussy all the time."

_ "Gross!" _

Baekhyun laughs at Jongdae's offended face. "Some of us aren't pussy bigots."

"I'm not a pussy bigot," Jongdae protests. "I'm just… a dedicated dick enthusiast."

Baekhyun howls. "Well, Mister Dedicated Dick Enthusiast, have you made any progress with your hot barista boy?"

"No," Jongdae whines. "I don't think he gets that I'm flirting with him? Or maybe he does but it's his job to be polite so he just pretends to be oblivious?"

"Or maybe he'd rather date a guy who looks like he won't blow away in a strong wind."

"Shut up, I can't help my metabolism."

"You could come to the gym with me, though."

"No," Jongdae whines. "Then my arms get big but I still have tiny hands and it looks weird."

"So your plan is to be tiny everywhere instead?"

"You know I'm not tiny  _ everywhere." _

Baekhyun snorts. "Whatever, weakling. Let me know when you need someone to open a jar for you."

"Whatever, yourself. Finish your pizza so you can kick my ass at Smash again."

"I kick your ass at everything," Baekhyun says, but he shoves the last of the pizza into his mouth and chews steadily, tossing Jongdae's pikachu character over the edge of the arena before he even swallows.

"You need more practice," Baekhyun comments as his character shakes his fist in triumph. "I'm still surprised that your imaginary hyung likes you enough to leave you food money without having met you—on second thought, maybe that’s  _ why _ he likes you. If he had to be subjected to all of your whining, he’d apply for a transfer, so it’s probably best that you’ve never— _ hey!” _

Jongdae may not work out, but he’s still better at roughhousing in real life than he’ll probably ever be at video games. By the end of it, the two of them are lying panting on the floor as the character-selection music loops in the background, both of them too exhausted to reach for a controller.

They actually fall asleep like that, full bellies and empty beer bottles combining with their residual exam-prep exhaustion to pull them under despite the continuing sounds from the video game. When Jongdae wakes, it’s because Baekhyun is hissing his name.

“Dude. Someone turned the TV off, cleaned up the pizza boxes and beer bottles, and put blankets over us. Your roommate must have come home—now’s your chance to finally meet him!”

Except that Minseok’s room is locked and there’s no response to their knock. And as curious as he is, Jongdae wrestles the chopsticks away from Baekhyun, forbidding him from picking the flimsy lock.

“He’s probably dead asleep after all his rehearsing. I’m not letting you wake him up—you’re the one who wants him to like me enough to leave us more takeout money, right?”

Baekhyun immediately stops struggling. “Excellent point. I can’t believe you were about to wake up such a kind and generous upperclassman, just because you thought he might be a poltergeist instead of a real living human.”

“I never said—”

“Shh! Let the poor man rest. Let’s go make friends with your cute coffee boy instead.”

Except the cute coffee boy isn’t working today, making Jongdae frown into his Americano that somehow doesn’t taste as good when made by anyone else. Of course it’s reasonable that Xiu has days off—he looks a year or two younger than Jongdae, so he’s probably a uni student like they are, and he probably needs to study.

Baekhyun’s suitably distracted by the stand-in, even if this “Barista Luhan” isn’t as good as Xiu. Or as good-looking. Sure, Luhan is rather pretty, so Jongdae can absolutely see why Baek’s attracted. But he doesn’t hold a candle to Xiu, and Jongdae quickly grows bored of watching the pair flirt. Of  _ course _ Baekhyun gets the guy he’s interested in to respond to his advances right away, unlike Jongdae who imagines himself someday, driven by mounting frustration at being ignored, bluntly asking Xiu if he’d ever want to make out with Jongdae or not.

Xiu would probably just give him that same measured smile, decline, and wish him a nice day as always.

Baekhyun offers token protests when Jongdae announces he’s going home but doesn’t stop him, merely blowing him a kiss when Jongdae leaves behind enough cash to pay for both their coffees. It’s probably not this Luhan’s fault that his Americano isn’t as tasty as when Xiu makes it—he seems very attentive and skilled, so it’s not like he’s negligent or anything. So Jongdae waits until he’s out of sight of the cafe before he ditches his barely-sipped cup in a nearby trash can, trudging home with his hands in his pockets.

When he gets there, Minseok is once again gone, but the note Jongdae had left that morning—an apology for falling asleep with the common room such a mess and thanking him for taking care of them—is answered, tidy printing marching around the margins of the star note Jongdae had used.

_ No problem! You and your… friend? looked very cute together, everyone needs to let loose sometimes. Thanks for saving me some pizza (and beer)! But from now on, maybe we can message each other on KakaoTalk instead? My ID is Seokitect99. >.< _

Jongdae’s day just got a bit brighter. Messaging Minseok will feel much more like they’re having an actual conversation, and Jongdae could use someone to vent to right about now. So he enters the ID into the messaging app, smiling when a picture of a cat comes up beside the name.

balladae21: 
    

hi hyung  
its jongdae  
your roommate  
thanks again for taking care of us  
sorry if we woke you up this morning

He’s delighted to see that the messages are marked as read right away. And more delighted when the app indicates Minseok is replying.

Seokitect99: 
    

Hi, Jongdae!  
You didn’t wake me up, don’t worry about it.  
I’m happy to take good care of my dongsaeng.  
And your friend/brother/boyfriend.  
You guys were really cute, asleep like puppies on the floor.  
>.<

Jongdae smiles, immediately set at ease by the familiar emoji use. This really is just like leaving each other sticky notes, except with the benefit of instant replies. He feels just as warm as he always does when his unmet hyung does his best to take care of him.

And he’s happy to see that Minseok seems cool with his roommate dating another guy. Generally people in the performing arts seem more accepting of same-sex relationships, but it’s one thing never to see his roommate, and another thing if Minseok were to start deliberately avoiding him or something.

But then he frowns, because he’s not actually dating another guy, or anyone else for that matter. And Baekhyun probably is by now, or at least well on the way. There’s no way he’d be leaving the coffee shop without the pretty barista’s number.

balladae21: 
    

baekhyun is my best friend since grade school  
im not dating anyone rn  
my crush basically ignores me ㅠ﹏ㅠ

Seokitect99: 
    

Oh?  
Who’s your crush?

balladae21: 
    

this really cute barista at my favorite cafe  
he’s adorable hyung  
but also like really hot somehow  
like his face is beautiful and sweet like must protec  
but then his arms when he rolls up his sleeves and works the coffee machines like  
id let barista xiu do  
things  
to me with those arms

Seokitect99: 
    

Okay, I’m going to stop you right there.  
>.<

Jongdae gapes in horror at the definitely-super-gay thirsting he’d just poured into his phone to the probably-straight guy he’s supposed to still live with for the rest of the year. Minseok might be fine with Jongdae dating a guy but of course he doesn’t want  _ details. _

balladae21: 
    

shit im sorry  
ill keep my thirst to myself  
didn’t mean to gross you out or anything

Seokitect99: 
    

Oh, no, I’m far from grossed out.  
>.<  
Just…   
Which one were you last night, the guy wedged under the coffee table?  
Or the one with his pants half-off and a video game controller shoved down the back of his underwear?

Well, if Jongdae wasn’t mortified before, he certainly is now. He’s cringing as he types his answer, already anticipating the “request for residence transfer” paperwork Minseok’s definitely going to file.

balladae21: 
    

um  
the one under the table  
im really sorry about that

Seokitect99: 
    

And your crush is Barista Xiu?  
From Bean Through?  
With purple hair?

Ice slithers down Jongdae’s spine. He hadn’t mentioned the name of the shop, so Minseok must know the guy. But then a spark blooms in his gut—he’d said he wasn’t grossed out by Jongdae’s gay babbling so maybe this is his chance. 

balladae21: 
    

yeah do you know him

Seokitect99: 
    

Rather well, I’d like to think.

balladae21: 
    

does he like boys

Seokitect99: 
    

Definitely.

balladae21: 
    

then if i send you a selfie will you show it to him  
and tell him im sorry for always bothering him at work but  
if hes interested he can have my number

Seokitect99: 
    

There’s really no need for all that. >.<

Jongdae’s heart sinks. He should have known he was being purposely ignored.

balladae21: 
    

ah hes dating someone already isnt he  
i should have guessed he wouldnt be single

Seokitect99: 
    

Oh, he’s single.  
He just ignored you because he doesn’t have time to date anyone properly.  
He didn’t want to give you false hope.  
He’s barely ever home as it is.

Jongdae blinks down at his phone. Minseok sounds so certain about this, like he knows who Jongdae is. But hadn’t he only seen him for the first time this morning? How could he— 

The door beeps and clicks as it unlocks.

Jongdae looks up from his phone to see Barista Xiu step into the room, wearing an old set of sweats rather than his trim and tidy barista’s uniform but still looking ridiculously hot. He smiles right at Jongdae, a real one wide enough to curve his eyes and expose a hint of pretty pink gums.

“Hi, Dae.”

Jongdae feels his mouth fall open. All the blood in his body rushes to his cheeks. And his eyes dry painfully before he remembers to blink.

“You—hi? Minseok-hyung gave you our code?”

Xiu shakes his head, smile growing wider, and Jongdae crumples to the ground as he finally gets it. He peers up through his fingers at the grinning man in his living room. 

“You  _ are _ Minseok-hyung,” he accuses.

Xiu—Minseok—nods, fluffy purple hair bouncing. “Nice to finally meet my favorite customer outside of work. And meet my roommate. I was so excited to recognize you this morning—well. I wasn’t sure which one of you was my roommate, and rather suspected you were dating each other. But I gave you my Kakao anyway, just in case.”

He crouches, bringing that perfect, smirking face way too close to Jongdae’s for his brain to function properly. Or at all.

“Your friend’s cute, too, but I’m really glad I ditched practice and came home to find you behind our door.”

“I—you—what?” Jongdae squeaks. “Your name isn’t even anything like Xiu!”

Minseok laughs, and it’s a glorious sound. So glorious and happy that Jongdae forgets to berate himself for saying something so dumb.

“Yeah, my best friend, Lu Han, manages Bean Through. He calls me Xiumin, because he thinks I’m elegant when I dance or something, honestly, who really knows with that guy. But he’s the one who makes the name tags, so that’s what he put on mine.”

“I am so angry at him right now.”

Jongdae’s so annoyed with the pretty, flirty Barista Luhan that his voice is almost a whisper. But Minseok must understand him anyway, because he laughs again, scooting closer until he’s sitting beside Jongdae’s crumpled form, arms wrapped around his knees, close enough that Jongdae can smell the cologne their bathroom always sort of smells like along with the barest hint of sweat.

“Ah, but if you’d known my real name right away, would you have still tried to flirt with me? It’s been the highlight of these last few crazy, stressful weeks to have you come in and give me that megawatt smile every day.”

Jongdae’s megawatt smile is nowhere to be found at the moment. “Probably not,” he admits. “But you should have just said you couldn’t date anyone! Why’d you let me make a fool out of myself for  _ weeks _ when it never would have gone anywhere?”

“Ah, you’re probably right, but you were so cute! The way you’d lick drops of coffee off your lips both killed me and gave me life.”

He leans closer, pressing their shoulders together as he ducks his chin and gives Jongdae the full brunt of those big, beautiful eyes. “You know I don’t have time to date you like you deserve, but I’d come home more often if I knew a sweet, thoughtful cutie was here waiting for me.”

“You would?”

Jongdae’s a trained singer who takes great care of his voice, so it’s really not possible for that cracked little squeak to have come out of his throat.

Minseok nods anyway, face falling into sincerity. “But I don’t want to make things weird, either, so if you’d rather pretend this whole thing never happened, we can redo our first official meeting another time.”

“No way,” Jongdae says, voice suddenly firm. “No way am I letting you get away after all this. We’re definitely dating, even if our dates are always at home.”

The serious set of Minseok’s gorgeous lips is replaced by an easy smirk. “Then… perhaps we can celebrate with a kiss?”

Jongdae’s gut flips. He usually prefers to take things slower, get to know the other person before jumping in to anything physical. But thanks to months of trading notes, Jongdae  _ does _ know Minseok, knows his favorite colors are the cool tones of the sky and the sea, knows he prefers the challenges of interior design over those of landscape architecture, knows he loves One Piece and has a bunch of figs even if Jongdae’s never seen the (presumably very tidy) collection stored in his room. He knows he has a younger sister and that his mother gave up on teaching him to cook when she sent him off with a list of ingredients and he got confused in the supermarket’s salt aisle.

Jongdae already really likes Minseok. And he definitely wants the opportunity to love him, too, even if he only sees him occasionally. They’ll keep taking care of each other, like they always have, except hopefully with an expanded repertoire of ways to relieve each other’s stress.

“I won’t want to stop at a single kiss, hyung,” Jongdae warns.

Minseok’s eyes light up, setting Jongdae buzzing better than all the Americanos in the world. The sturdy arm that curves around him makes him feel more cared for than any note ever written.

He hasn’t even leaned in halfway before Minseok’s smile collides with his own.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Nota Beane](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27486274) by [cheshiretears](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheshiretears/pseuds/cheshiretears)




End file.
